MKR kicked off its Ultimate Instant Restaurant round with the competition’s favourite duo Justin and Will cooking first on Tuesday night.
The best mates celebrated heritage, ambition and bold flavours, scoring an impressive 75 out of 100, securing their place as serious contenders in the competition.
They have been labelled the “ones to watch”, managing to stay out of the drama amongst the contestants but dad-of-three Will is adamant it’s not a strategy.
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The best mates from New South Wales credit their solid friendship as the secret to their success in the competition so far.
“We’ve known each other for 10 years and I think we hang out more than we should,” Will told 7NEWS.com.au.
“We’re both generally good cooks, and we both cook to perfect. We also enjoy cooking for our families.
“Obviously, it’s very different in front of the cameras, it’s a lot of pressure.
“But I think we understand our roles in the kitchen.”
Will revealed when the cameras weren’t on, behind the scenes they spent six to eight hours a day practicing their dishes in the lead up to the Ultimate Instant Restaurant round.
With a menu that spanned continents, from Cape Malay spices to Parisian patisserie, Justin and Will rose to the epic challenge of preparing two entrees, two mains and two desserts.
Their entrée set the tone with beef samosas with tomato and chilli chutney and kingfish crudo with black caviar.
The mains, Dong Po Rou with Asian greens and rice and Ouma’s seafood hotpot, were standouts.
The dessert of Paris-Brest with pistachio crème initially faltered, collapsing in the oven, but a second batch wowed the judges.
While generally they manage the stress with a steady head, Will confesses that moment almost broke him.
“When I had to redo that dessert, I was actually done … we were sitting on the floor looking at the first batch of the desserts and Justin actually said we can’t serve these,” Will revealed.
“And I thought, ‘If he believes we can redo it, let’s just go for it’.”
Manu Feildel awarded Justin and Will a perfect ten for both the main and dessert, while Colin Fassnidge gave solid marks across the board.
But not everyone was impressed, with Maria and Bailey’s scoring perceived as strategic gameplay, as they chose dishes they thought might trip up Justin and Will.
Maria and Bailey admitted to being “hyper-critical”, hoping to expose weaknesses but the judges’ scores told a different story.
Tensions rose as the open scoring twist meant all teams revealed their score and feedback to the whole table, including Justin and Will.
“We didn’t realise teams were strategically scoring until the ultimate instant restaurants,” Will said.
“To hear some of the scores, especially Maria and Bailey’s six, was surprising.
“All of the contestants were served really good food but some of the critiques didn’t marry with the scores they gave.
“That’s when we thought, ‘What’s going on here?’
“There must be some strategic scoring … but at the end of the day it’s a competition.”
Justin and Will acknowledged some teams might be using this strategy but they weren’t playing a game.
“We have been true to ourselves from the beginning,” Will said.
“When it comes to the drama we just heat up some popcorn and watch it unfold.
“But that doesn’t mean we’re afraid to speak up when something isn’t right.”
As fathers — Will has three children while Justin is a dad-of-two with one more on the way — it is important to them that they are still good role models for their kids watching at home.
As to what they think of being called the biggest contenders in the competition.
Will said: “It’s both a compliment and a threat.”
On Monday, the next Ultimate Instant Restaurant explodes with more drama and more competition, including an accusation, a confession and a shock exit.
